He once dwelled alone in boundless loneliness;

His memories contained all his past and present lives;

He completed his boot camp amidst endless punishment;

He narrowly escaped death in battles involving millions;

He wished to break free from the sea of suffering that is reincarnation, yet did not realize he was cultivating immortality.

From ignorant learning to the brilliance of finally unveiling the truth—

A persistent pursuit, unwavering to the end—could eternal life truly be the destination he desires?

Chapter One: Awakening from a Great Dream (Part 1)

"You useless pile of trash, even the dumbest idiot is a hundred times smarter than you! Why aren’t you running already!!!"

Henry Brooks had just felt as if he was waking from a long dream when he heard this furious scolding.

Looking around, he found himself mixed in with a crowd of people all wearing identical uniforms, running frantically in formation. Hmm, it seemed he was wearing the same clothes too. Military uniform? There were men and women in the group, white people, black people, and others with yellow skin like himself. The only thing in common was that everyone was about the same age, all young adults in their early twenties.

Then, Henry Brooks realized he was in a very strange place. It seemed to be a huge training ground. Yes, a training ground. Why did that word suddenly pop into his head?

In this enormous field, there were more than a dozen teams just like his, all practicing some seemingly inexplicable movements. Basic military training? Why did that term come to mind? Hmm, he was participating in basic military training—had he actually joined the army?

Amid the heavy panting around him, Henry Brooks felt as if he was slowly regaining his memory. It was a strange sensation—he was actually recovering two sets of memories at the same time!

"Henry Brooks, damn it, what are you looking around for? Do I have to say it for the two-hundredth time? Damn it, you’re not allowed to do such stupid things in formation! If I catch anyone doing it again, no matter who it is, you’ll all run ten laps around the field!" The thunderous voice of Instructor Hack rang in his ears, deafening. Henry Brooks quickly pulled his wandering mind back, listened to the commands, and practiced in step with the team.

Instructor Hack's words seemed to put everyone on alert, and nothing disruptive happened. Only Henry Brooks kept having strange memories or terms pop up in his mind, making him uneasy.

In a moment of distraction, he seemed to miss a step. The formation was tight, so his mistake immediately caused chaos, and the whole team became disordered.

"Halt!" Instructor Hack shouted the command to stop, and the team immediately froze. Realizing he had caused trouble, Henry Brooks quickly collected his drifting thoughts, stood up straight, and pretended to be a model recruit, silently praying that Instructor Hack hadn’t noticed. Hmm, why did the word "pray" come to mind?

"Henry Brooks, what on earth are you doing? Did you leave your brain at home? Damn it, how can you mess up something as simple as running? Are you straight out of gorilla evolution and not yet used to human life?" Instructor Hack's booming voice, along with his fierce face and gaping mouth, appeared right in front of him, their foreheads almost touching. Instructor Hack's eyes bulged like copper bells, and his spit showered Henry Brooks's face like a rainstorm.

The surrounding soldiers stood in perfect military posture, none of them speaking, though they were probably laughing to themselves.

Henry Brooks's head was pushed slightly backward by Instructor Hack's forehead, and he didn’t dare say a word. His earlier hope of escaping notice vanished, replaced by a sudden fear he couldn’t explain.

"Did you not hear me, Private Henry Brooks!" Instructor Hack's booming voice sounded again.

Snapping to attention, Henry Brooks shouted, "Yes, sir! Instructor!"

"Louder, I can’t hear you! Didn’t you have breakfast this morning?" Instructor Hack seemed intent on giving him a hard time.

"Yes, sir! Instructor!" Henry Brooks straightened up and answered even louder, almost roaring.

"Then run ten laps around this damn field for me! Right now!" Instructor Hack commanded loudly.

"Yes, sir!" Henry Brooks didn’t dare say more, immediately stepping out of line and starting to run around the field.

Since he had to run ten laps and wasn’t required to sprint, he figured he could use the time to clear his head.

Henry Brooks started jogging slowly, but after just a few steps, he heard Instructor Hack's booming voice: "Henry Brooks, damn it, did you really not eat? Is that a turtle crawl or a run? Faster!" Instructor Hack's scolding drew a burst of laughter from the field. Then came more of Instructor Hack's rebukes: "Do you all want to join that idiot for some fun exercise?"

However, Henry Brooks no longer cared about this nonsense. Instructor Hack's words still echoed in his ears, and if he ran too slowly, who knew what other punishments awaited. A voice in his mind kept warning him not to disobey orders.

Stretching his legs, Henry Brooks began to sprint. After only a short while, it felt as if someone had thrown burning coals into his lungs, setting them ablaze, and sweat poured from his body like erupting lava.